Meher has ten years of experience in the citizen sector, both in India and South Asia. Documentation, evaluation and research are the core areas of her experience. Her experience also includes management of projects on issues such as women’s empowerment, gender and governance, child labor, disability, youth development and NGO capacity building. Her most recent experience was working at JAGORI (‘Awaken, Women’), a feminist group raising consciousness on violence, health, education and other issues critical to women. There, she researched and developed resource material to support the organization’s advocacy work on legal rights, food security rights and the health of women. Prior to this, Meher conceptualized and initiated a development program for youth called YES (Youth Enrichment Services) for a corporate body in Delhi. From 1999-2006, Meher worked at Association for Stimulating Know How where she coordinated the Evaluation, Research & Documentation Unit. She was primarily involved in planning, conducting, supervising and documenting evaluations and studies for national and international agencies. During that time she also managed projects on gender and governance in Rajasthan and economic empowerment of Muslim women in Uttar Pradesh. She organized women into groups and coordinated and facilitated trainings and other capacity building inputs to help women meet their development objectives. Meher also coordinated the advocacy component of a project providing developmental opportunities to children working in household brassware units in Uttar Pradesh. From 2004-2005 Meher was with Saarthak where she coordinated a UNIFEM project in tsunami affected communities of Sri Lanka. She was involved in the process of gendering the reconstruction work and addressing psychosocial impacts on women and children. She also worked closely with local organizations and the government, enhancing their capacities to identify and address gender related vulnerabilities after a disaster. Meher holds a B.S. in sciences from Delhi University and a M.A. in social work from Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi.
Host Organization: Population Action International (PAI)